Elongate Body Drying Towel

ABSTRACT

The invention constitutes a towel for the drying of the human body. The towel includes an elongate strip of moisture-absorbent cloth having reinforced edges and further having a ratio of a length-to-width of between about 8:1 and about 12:1, the strip of cloth having a first end and a second end, each end having a void space sufficient in area to facilitate engagement of the ends by respective hands of a user. The towel is between about 40 and about 72 inches in length.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Area of Invention

The invention pertains to towels, drying towels and the likeparticularly for use during or after bathing or showering.

(b) Prior Art

There have been a few changes in the shape or geometry of towels or thelike employed, typically, for drying of the body following a shower,bath, partial bath or the like.

More particularly, the art has made no effort to address the problems ofparticularly obese individuals and those with arthritis or the like, whohave difficulty bending at the area of the waist and persons who arerecovering from a surgical procedure such that bending of the torsoduring the recovery period is to be kept at minimum. Consequently, suchindividuals, using a towel of a typical width and length are unable toreach the lower extremities of their body or, often, their backs andother areas of the body as well. As a result, obese, arthritic, orindividuals recovering from a variety of surgeries cannot fully drythemselves following a showing or bath without the assistance of anotherindividual or nurse which, understandably, can be the cause ofembarrassment, provided such an assisting individual is even availableat all. Further, the absence in the art of a towel particularly adaptedto the needs of such individuals increases the chances of abathroom-related accident if one attempts to reach particular areas ofthe body, if they can be reached at all, including pain anddisorientation to the individual involved even in the absence of anaccident.

The present invention, in a number of different embodiments, addressesthe long-felt need in the art for a body drying towel particularlyadapted and configured to the needs of individuals of the categories setforth above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention constitutes a towel for the drying of the human body. Thetowel comprises an elongate strip of moisture-absorbent cloth havingreinforced edges and further having a ratio of a length-to-width ofbetween about 8:1 and about 12:1, said strip of cloth having a first endand a second end, each end having proximally thereto an openingsufficient in area to facilitate gripping of said ends by respectivehands of a user. Typically, the width of each of said openings defines arange of about 50 to about 70 percent of a width of said strip of cloth,with a length of about 40 to about 72 inches.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drying towel orthe like particularly adapted in geometry to the needs of people havingdifficulty reaching lower extremities of their body and portions oftheir back with a towel of typical length and width.

It is another object to provide a drying means of the above type havingsufficient length to reach extremities and other difficult to reachareas of the body without need for bending of the back of the userthereof.

It is a still further object to provide a drying towel of the above typewhich includes means for the gripping of the ends thereof by therespective hands of a user without requirement to form a complete fist.

The above and yet other objects and advantages of the present inventionwill become apparent from the hereinafter set forth Brief Description ofthe Drawings, Detailed Description of the Invention and Claims appendedherewith.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of the inventive shower andbath towel, of which the bottom is a mirror image thereof.

FIG. 2 is a side longitudinal view of the towel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end view of FIG. 1 in which each end is identical to theother.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a second embodiment of a shower and bath towel,of which the bottom is a mirror image thereof.

FIG. 5 is a side longitudinal view of the embodiment of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an end view of FIG. 4, in which each end is identical to theother.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a third embodiment of my inventive towel, saidembodiment including a cushioning strip at outer edges of the grippingspace thereof, in which the bottom thereof is a mirror image of the topview.

FIG. 8 is a side longitudinal view of the embodiment of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an end view of FIG. 7, in which each end is identical to theother.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a fourth embodiment of my elongate shower towelhaving gripping regions each of enhanced area, of which the bottom viewis a mirror image thereof.

FIG. 11 is a side longitudinal view of the towel of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an end view of FIG. 10, in which each end is identical to theother.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there are shown front, side and endviews of the first embodiment 100 of the present inventive towel. Thetowel includes an elongate strip of cloth 102 which must be of amoisture-absorbent nature, for example Terry cloth. Of necessity thestrip 102 must be reinforced at its peripheral edges as in indicated bystitching 104. Such strip of cloth 102 also includes a first end 106 anda second end 108.

The geometry of said strip of cloth 102 is particularly characterized bya ratio of length-to-width of between about 8:1 and about 12:1 as wellas a pair of void space or hand grip spaces 110 and 112 which areproximal to respective first and second ends 106 and 108. Thefunctionality of the inventive towel requires a means of reinforcementabout each of the hand gripping areas such as by the use of stitching114. Stitching may, if desired, extend continuously outwardly in thedirection of respective ends 106 and 108 and, if desired, may take theform of embroidery or the like to provide a greater degree ofreinforcement within areas 116 and 118 of the towel. It is noted thatthe width of each of said areas 110 and 112 define a range of about 50to about 70 percent of the width of the strip of cloth 102. Inembodiment 100, shown in FIGS. 1-2, the width of each hand grip space110/112 will exceed that of the lengthwise or longitudinal dimension ofsaid space. The overall length of towel 100 may range from about 40 toabout 72 inches. Clearly, the taller and/or larger the individual usingthe present towel, the greater will be the length necessary for such anindividual to comfortably reach all parts of the body without a degreeof bending at the back or waist of the body.

In FIGS. 4-6 are shown a further embodiment of the invention, similarlyto that of FIGS. 1-4 in all respects other than the geometry of therespective ends 206 and 208 which, in embodiment 200, are squared orrectangular as opposed ends 106/108 of embodiment 100 which are curved.As in embodiment 100, embodiment 200 includes stitching 214 above eachhand gripping space 210/212 which stitching may, if desired, extendupwardly or downwardly to respective ends 206/208 to provide a greaterdegree of reinforcement in areas 216/218 of the towel 200. With respectto choice of materials, both sides of the towel may consist of the samemoisture-absorbent material such as Terry cloth; however one side may beprovided with a different degree of roughness than the other side and,further, one side of the towel may be provided with a sufficient degreeof roughness or surface thereof to act as a loofah which may be used byindividuals to remove excess skin or to treat cellulite.

In FIGS. 7-9 is shown a further embodiment 300 of the invention in whicha deformably resilient elongated element in the nature of a firmfoam-like polymer or other sponge-like material is embedded or sewnwithin the fabric 302 along outer edge 322 of each handgrip space310/312 of the towel 300. It is noted that a similar elongate element324, if desired, may also provided along the bottom surface of thetowel, also along an outer edge 322 of each handgrip space 310/312. Atypical diameter of the deformable resilient element 320 or 324 may bein a range of 0.5 to 1.0 inches, the purpose of which is to address thedifficulty which many older and arthritic individuals have in closingtheir hands to a fist about an article having a diameter lesser that 0.5inches and also to provide additional comfort and control to anyindividual using the towel 300 of the embodiment of FIGS. 7-9. Suchelements at edges 322 also act to reduce the need for additionalstitching or reinforcement in areas 316/318 of towel 300.

At FIGS. 10-12 is embodiment 400 of the instant invention which in allrespects is similar to that of embodiment 100 with the exception thatthe ratio of the width to the length dimension of hand gripping spaces410/412 is smaller than the embodiment of FIG. 1. In other words, thespaces 410/412 are closer to that of a square than is the case inembodiments 100, 200 and 300. It has been found that this geometry oftowel 400 is more easily engaged by people with larger hands or poorercoordination.

In FIG. 13 is shown a further embodiment 500 of the inventive towelwhich is generally similar to embodiment 100 with the exception thatoutermost surfaces 522 of gripping spaces 510/512 are curved or arcuatein geometry to facilitate ease of gripping of the spaces 510/512, giventhat most of the tension upon the towel 500 is in the outer directionstoward respective ends 506 and 508 of the towel as it is pulledback-and-forth against areas of the body to be dried. As in the otherembodiments, appropriate reinforcement about the periphery of cloth 502and all edges of spaces 510/512 exists and, optionally, within areas516/518.

While there has been shown and described above the preferred embodimentof the instant invention it is to be appreciated that the invention maybe embodied otherwise than is herein specifically shown and describedand that, within said embodiment, certain changes may be made in theform and arrangement of the parts without departing from the underlyingideas or principles of this invention as set forth in the Claimsappended herewith.

I claim:
 1. A towel for drying of the human body, the towel comprising: an elongate strip of a moisture-absorbent cloth having reinforcing edges and further having a ratio of length-to-width of between about 8:1 and about 12:1, said strip having a first end and a second end, each end having proximally thereto hand engagement void spaces.
 2. The towel as recited in claim 1, in which a width of each of said void spaces define a range of about 50 to about 70 percent of a width of said strip of cloth.
 3. The towel as recited in claim 2, in which a length of said void spaces each define a dimension about equal to said width thereof.
 4. The towel as recited in claim 2, in which areas of said cloth at and about said void spaces include reinforcements provided about edges of each space.
 5. The towel as recited in claim 2, in which a width dimension of each space exceeds a length dimension thereof.
 6. The towel as recited in claim 2, in which a length of said strip defines a range of about 40 to about 72 inches.
 7. The towel as recited in claim 4, in which said reinforcements comprise stitching patterns.
 8. The towel as recited in claim 2, in which one side of said strip comprises a material having a greater degree of roughness on one side than the other side of said strip.
 9. The towel as recited in claim 6, in which said reinforcements comprise stitching patterns.
 10. The towel as recited in claim 5, in which areas of said cloth at and about said void spaces include reinforcements provided about edges of each space.
 11. The towel as recited in claim 6, in which outer edges of each of said void spaces define a curved or arcuate geometry.
 12. The towel as recited in claim 6, in which outermost edges of each of said spaces include an elongate deformably resilient element secured into said strip at outermost edges of each void space.
 13. The towel as recited in claim 12, in which deformably resilient elements are provided upon both the upper and lower surfaces of the towel along said outermost edges of each void space thereof.
 14. The towel as recited in claim 12, in which said material of each deformable resilient element defines a diameter of between 0.5 and 1.0 inches.
 15. The towel as recited in claim 2, in which there is provided a stitching pattern between each end of said strip of material and each outermost edge of each of said void spaces. 